The Kamaishi Festival 釜石市 の祭り
The Kamaishi Festival
www.city.kamaishi.iwate.jp
A festival between two worlds
Each year, the small town of Kamaishi organizes its festival, a parade in honor of the local deities. In 2019, this festival will coincide with the Rugby World Cup™! A great opportunity to discover the local culture between two oval ball throws.
A parade surmer…
Each year, Kamaishi organizes three days of festivities starting on the third Friday of October . A long weekend punctuated by the sound of the taiko (traditional Japanese drums), the songs of the participants and the sound of the paddles crashing down on the waves.
Indeed, the majority of the festival takes place on the water . Kamaishi being a town that lives mainly from fishing, it regularly pays homage to the local deities who have protected ships and its men during the year.
During the festival, nearly a dozen hikifune boats will cruise the bay of the small fishing village. Initially planned to accommodate a small crew, h ikifune boats are small Japanese boats that were traditionally used in Edo (1603-1868) to fish along the shore. Generally moored near the coast, they only sail today for the festival. For the occasion, they are even accompanied by t airyobata , large traditional Japanese lucky charm flags that would bring good luck and safety at sea.
Hikifune, a traditional Japanese boat
Wikimedia
The tairyobata, a lucky flag in Japan
Flick/ kimuchi583
The Tiger Dance on the Waters of Kamaishi
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But it is especially for its tiger dance, says Tora-mai , that the Kamaishi festival attracts visitors from all over Japan. Arms covered with a fabric tiger's head, the dancers move their hands to the rhythm of the drums to give the impression that the tigers are flying above the water. An impressive dance, which would thus drive away the evil spirits from the bay.
… and on land
A true local event , the parade also continues on dry land . Linking the Ozaki shrine in the south of the bay to that of Sanjija which protects the mines to the east of the city, the festival sees several hundred dancers and singers enliven the streets of Kamaishi each year. As the parade is primarily a religious event, members of the procession also carry mikoshi , portable Shinto shrines , between the two shrines.
The tiger dance on the ground
Wikimedia
Address, timetable & access
Address
Timetable
by taxi from the station to Kamaishi fish marketAccess
2018 edition: October 19 to 21
